Arsenal Win Community Shield

After having gone nine years without a trophy, Arsenal now have two in their last two competitive matches. They defeated Manchester City 3-0 in the traditional curtain-raiser for the English season. It may not be the most highly valued piece of silverware, but it will and should give Arsenal some confidence heading into their season opener this weekend.

All three of Arsenal’s summer signings started the match. Alexis Sanchez brought his impressive form from the World Cup to this match. Mathieu Debuchy had a solid, if unspectacular, debut, and Calum Chambers, though just a few games into his Arsenal career, looked like he may end up being a bargain at 16 million pounds.

Santi Cazorla opened the scoring in the 21st minute, finishing off a move that saw some lazy City defending with a low shot past new City keeper Willy Caballero. Aaron Ramsey doubled the lead shortly before halftime, taking a pass from Yaya Sanogo, beating Matija Nastasic, and then firing a shot into the bottom corner. Olivier Giroud got on the board in the second half, shooting from well outside the box and benefitting from a deflected shot to make it 3-0.

Arsenal should feel proud that they have started the season this well, but they must keep in mind that their opponents looked like they were still in preseason. City fielded a primarily second-string lineup, though new signing Fernando started in midfield, with Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic leading the line up front. It makes sense that Arsenal would be so much more prepared for the season, as they must still qualify for the Champions League group stage against Besiktas, so there is no time for them to start slow. Man City won’t be too upset by this loss, and the team opening the EPL against Newcastle this weekend will likely look very different from the team that took the field at Wembley for this match.